Then There Were Three
by TheValetAndTheMaid
Summary: Slight spoilers for the Downton Abbey movie - Follow Anna, John and their son Johnnie through his earliest years! This fic is going to be made up of one-shots all based around the three of them, but there will be some other characters we know and love that make an appearance too! I hope you all like this fanfiction and please review if you have the time. Thank you :)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I know that I started a fanfiction like this before the Downton movie hit cinemas, but when I started it I had no idea what Banna's son looked like and I didn't know what his name was. Now that I do, I thought that I would start again so things are a little more accurate. These one-shots are going to be different ones to the ones that I did in the other fanfiction, but I hope that you like them all the same. Thank you all for the support and I hope that you like this chapter and the chapters yet to come.**

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The sound of the rain patting against the windowpanes and the flames of the fire crackling and spitting in the hearth made Anna smile as she sat in her rocking chair with Johnnie in her arms. He had drifted off some time ago, after she had nursed and winded him, and even though she knew she ought to lie him in his bassinet she just couldn't take her eyes off of him. It had been a month-and-a-half since the evening of his birth and yet she and John were still besotted with him. He meant the world to them and everything he did – no matter how small – had both of them mesmerised.

John had returned to work a week ago and although she was still coming to terms with that and she missed him, she had to admit that she loved the expression that crossed his face when he came home at night. It was an expression of complete happiness and knowing that seeing her and their son made him so delighted just deepened her love for him. On occasion, Johnnie would still be awake when he got home and the smile that would grace his features at the sight of his father left her eyes brimming with tears. He and John had such an incredible bond already and she adored that.

The sound of her son whimpering in her arms brought her out of her thoughts a little while later and so she brought him closer to her chest while releasing soft shushes. It wasn't long before he settled again and once he had curled his fingers into her cardigan she looked at the wall-clock. It was quarter-past ten. She knew that John left Downton and started to walk home at ten o'clock which meant that he would be walking down the road in just a couple of minutes. Deciding to meet him at the door, she rose from her rocking chair and kissed Johnnie's nose before leaving the room.

Once she'd opened the front door she pulled her cardigan around her slumbering son to keep out the chill and smiled down at him as he cuddled up to her. She swayed in place to keep him asleep while looking out for John and when, at last, she spotted him her heart fluttered at the smile he blessed her with. 'Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?' He flirted which earned him a good-natured eye-roll and a smirk from her as he began to walk down their path. She stepped to one side so that he could enter the cottage once he had reached her and smiled at him when he laid a hand on her hip.

He brought her closer before stooping to catch her in a kiss and she sighed against his lips before stepping back from him once their kiss broke and closing the door. 'I think this little man's missed you today,' She watched as he took off his hat and shrugged out of his coat before hanging them up. 'When you left for work he kept looking around and he did it again when you went back after coming home at lunchtime,' She looked down at their son and watched as John ran the back of his finger over his hair. 'Come into the kitchen and you can sit with him while I make us a cup of tea.'

She then turned and walked down the hall to the kitchen with John behind her and once the two of them had entered the room she turned back to him and eased Johnnie into his arms. She comforted their son with soft shushes when he grizzled in his sleep and, soon enough, he calmed and cuddled against his father. 'Mrs. Hughes wanted me to ask you if she can come and visit tomorrow afternoon,' John said after taking out a chair at the dining table and sitting down. 'She know that you have a lot to do at the moment though, so she doesn't mind if you haven't got the time just now.'

'Of course she can come and see me,' She smiled while placing the kettle on the stove before walking to the cupboard and finding two teacups. 'I need to go into the village for a couple of things in the morning, but I don't think I have a lot to do in the afternoon so it would be nice to see her,' Once she had put a sugar cube into both of their teacups and filled the tea strainer with tea leaves she walked over to the table and pulled out the chair next to her husband before sitting down. 'I've been thinking a lot about when would be the most appropriate time for me to come back to work.'

'Go on.' He nodded.

'I was thinking that I might start easing myself back into work when Johnnie's around six months old because that's when Lady Mary will be close to having the baby,' She pointed out. 'I'll still take most of the week off – I'll just come in for two or three days a week so that I don't wear myself out – but I want to be able to help her like I did when she was having Master George. I feel as though I owe that to her in a way, considering she was the one who made me go to doctor Ryder. Johnnie wouldn't even be here if she hadn't had that idea, so I want to help her as much as possible.'

When she looked up at her husband there was a smile on his face and he was shaking his head at her.

'What?' She giggled.

He sighed. 'You're perfect, that's what.'

'Soft beggar,' She tutted before lowering her gaze to their son and stroking his cheek with the back of her forefinger. She and John sat in silence for the next few minutes while watching Johnnie sleep without a care in the world, but in no time at all the kettle began to whistle over on the stove and so she got up from her chair in order to finish making the tea. 'I think we might be able to have an evening to ourselves for once. He refused to let me put him down for his nap earlier, so I think he's going to be out for most of the night now. He was worn out when he was having his feed.'

John chuckled as he patted Johnnie's back in a comforting manner through his nightshirt before gazing down at him and feeling a surge of adoration course through his veins. His little features were still becoming more noticeable, but there was no denying that he was the spitting image of his mother. He had her fair hair and deep blue eyes, her nose, her lips, her chin and even her ears. Every time he looked at him he saw that he looked a little more like her and that was one of the things he loved the most about him. 'Night-night, little man…' He whispered before kissing his brow.

'Could you take the tea through to the sitting room while I put him to bed?' He looked up from Johnnie at the sound of Anna's voice and smiled while watching her walk over to him before she gave his back a stroke through his jacket.

'Of course,' He replied before turning in her direction and allowing her to lift their son out of his arms and into hers. Once he had watched her settle Johnnie and draw him close to her chest he rose from the chair and ran his hand over her hair. 'I love you; you know that, sweetheart, don't you?' He asked her before moving his hand down to her waist.

'I do,' She reassured him. 'I love you too.'

She rose up onto her tiptoes to press a chaste kiss onto his lips before the two of them shared a smile and she stepped past him in order to carry their son out of the kitchen and up the staircase to their bedroom. John then walked across to the counter on which the teacups were sitting on a tray before hooking his cane over his arm and picking the tray up. His knee protested as he carried the tea through to the sitting room, but the pain was nowhere near as awful as it had been in previous years and he knew that that was all down to the salve that Anna had bought for him weeks ago.

His knee had given him such grief back at the start of the year and even though he'd tried to keep it from his wife – not wanting to add more to her plate – she had sensed that he had been struggling and gone to the chemist for some salve. For the last month-or-so she had applied it to his knee every night before the two of them had gone to bed and he loved her for that. Each time he said that she didn't have to do it she echoed her vows and all that he could do was smile in response. He couldn't believe that in just three more months she was going to have been his for seven years.

It was such an incredible thought.

Once he had reached his armchair which was stood in front of the fireplace he set the tray down on the table beside it before sitting down and waiting for Anna to come downstairs. He hated knowing that she had to manage everything alone while he was at work. She was still recovering from the birth and adjusting to life as a mother and now that he was up at Downton all the time he was unable to help her. In all truthfulness, however, she had coped rather well for the last couple of days and even though she was exhausted she remained positive and he was so proud of her for that.

'Settled, at last.' He turned his head in the direction of the doorway when her voice reached his ears sometime later.

After chuckling he opened his arms to her and watched as she walked over to his chair before she sat herself down in his lap and leaned against his chest. He slipped an arm around her waist once she had gotten herself comfortable and brought his free hand to her hair in order to comb his fingers through it. Silence fell over them for the next couple of minutes before, after tucking a fair strand of hair back behind her ear, he turned his head toward her and chuckled as he saw that her eyes were closed. 'I think it might be someone else's bedtime…' He pressed two kisses to her temple.

Anna opened her eyes once he had pulled back from her and tilted her head back on his shoulder to gaze up at him. 'I miss having you at home all the time,' She told him while he stroked her hip with his thumb through her nightgown. 'I understand that you have to go to work and I realise that you staying at home with Johnnie and I was never going to be a permanent thing, but it feels strange not having you here,' Her eyes fell shut when he ran his fingertips along her jawline and she sighed when he brushed her lips with his own in a soft kiss. 'I can't wait until your next half-day.'

'Me either,' He gave her a squeeze. 'I get to spend a whole afternoon with you and Johnnie.'

'You do realise that he'll probably just sleep on you the whole time, don't you?' She giggled.

He shrugged with a smile. 'That's one of the things that I love the most about being his father.'

'I can't believe how fast the time's going,' She admitted. 'It seems as though it was days ago when we came home with him and now he's smiling and it's so hard to get him to stop pulling on my hair when I'm winding him after his feed.'

He hummed in response. 'I wouldn't change the last six weeks for the world, though.'

'Neither would I,' She gave his cheek a stroke with the back of her hand. 'They've just been so perfect, haven't they?'

'They have,' He nodded before leaning his forehead against hers for a moment. 'I love you.'

She sighed with happiness. 'I love you too.'

He tightened the arm that was around her waist when she cuddled up to him and moved her head from his shoulder to his chest so that she could nuzzle beneath his chin. It didn't surprise him in the least when she began to snore just a couple of minutes later because it had been clear to him that she had been exhausted the second he had come home. He would wake her in a little while. He would have to since he was unable to carry her up the staircase. For the time being, however, he was able to sit and hold her and make sure that she got the sleep that she both needed and craved.

Something that he knew he would never tire of doing.

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**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading the first one-shot and I hope that you liked it! I think that Johnnie is such a sweet name for Anna and John's son and I think we all had a feeling that Anna would want to name him after his father, haha. If it's not too much trouble, I would be so grateful if you left a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter and I'll see you all in the next one which will be going up either tomorrow or on Friday. See you all soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews on the first chapter - I'm glad that you liked it! I hope you like this chapter just as much :)**

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Once John had managed to bring up Johnnie's wind after his feed he cradled him in his arms and reclined back against the cushion on his chair with a sigh. Even though it was half-past three in the morning, he had to leave for Downton in a couple of hours and he was exhausted, he couldn't find it in him to complain about having to get up with his son. He loved the little cuddle that the two of them shared while he gave him a bottle. He loved the smiles that Johnnie blessed him with when he crooned at him. This had been such a long time in coming and he wanted to treasure every moment.

He had done all of the night feeds since he and Anna had brought Johnnie home from Downton the morning following his arrival. In the beginning, his wife had proposed that the two of them took it in turns to get up with him so that both of them could have a chance to sleep. He had known how worn out and uncomfortable she'd been back then, however, and so he had insisted that she allowed him to be the one to care for their son during the night. He was glad that he had stuck to his guns on that, too, because she did so much while he was at Downton and he wanted her to be able to sleep.

The subtle chill that travelled through the sitting room led him to pull the blanket that Johnnie was swaddled in further around him and he couldn't help but smile as his son stared up at him. 'Never mind staring,' He shook his head at him while keeping his voice quiet. 'It's almost four o'clock in the morning and you and I should still be sound asleep, little man.' He felt a surge of love for his son course through his veins when a smile graced his features and he just couldn't resist the urge to press a kiss onto his temple. 'What would mummy say if she knew that we were up at such an hour?'

It was then that his wife gave herself away with the soft giggle that she let out and he gave her a smirk when he looked over his shoulder at her. 'I'll tell you what she would say,' She whispered before brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear, walking over to his armchair and perching herself on the arm. 'She would say that she thinks it's a bit daft that you're sat in a cold sitting room when there's a warm bedroom upstairs.' She put her arm around John's shoulders and kissed him on the cheek before looking down at their son and smiling. 'How much of his bottle did he end up having?'

'Three ounces,' He replied. 'I tried to get him to finish the bottle, but he wasn't having it.'

She brushed her thumb against his shoulder through his nightshirt. 'You fed him his last bottle when we went to bed at around half-past twelve, so he might not have needed all four ounces. Besides, he knows better than either of us if he's got a full stomach,' She ran the back of her finger down Johnnie's cheek when he looked up at her. 'I think it might be time for you to go back to bed so that your daddy can get a few more hours of sleep, precious. He needs to be up again soon and we don't want him arriving at Downton half-asleep, do we?' She and John laughed as Johnnie blinked at her.

'Sometimes I still can't believe that we created him.' John breathed after a couple of seconds.

'I know,' She replied. 'I keep feeling like I'm living in some kind of dream.'

She gazed into his eyes when he turned his head in her direction and the tenderness that lived in them almost made her weep. 'I don't know when it'll be, but I promise you that we're going to find our bed and breakfast hotel at some point and we're going to have everything we talked about in the servant's hall all those years ago.' He gave her a soft smile.

'There's no rush…' She rested her hand on his cheek. 'Let's just…live in the moment…for now and make the most of the time that the two of us have with Johnnie while he's this small. We've waited long enough for this moment, John.'

'You're right,' He told her. 'As per usual.'

The two of them shared a smile before she ran her thumb across his cheek and leaned in to catch his lips with hers in a long kiss. 'Can I hold him?' She asked him once she'd pulled back from their kiss and looked down at their son again.

'You don't have to ask,' He nodded before turning towards her and easing Johnnie into her arms. 'Of course you can.'

Once their son was calm in her arms she sighed with happiness. 'He has no idea of how much he's changed our lives.'

'He doesn't,' He shook his head. 'But he will in time.'

Just a few minutes later, a yawn escaped Anna and she giggled when he laid a hand on her spine through her cardigan. 'I think it might be time for all of us to head back to bed,' She said before he smiled and pecked her cheek. 'Come on.'

She got up from the arm of his chair with Johnnie and waited for him to get up himself before he took hold of his cane and began to follow her out of the sitting room. Just before he switched off the light, however, he stopped walking and allowed himself to take a moment to watch her walk upstairs with their son both comfortable and at peace in her arms.

He knew that she'd been right to suggest that they lived in the moment for the next few months or even years to come.

Each moment with Johnnie was so precious and it was a moment that neither of them would get again.

The bed and breakfast hotel of their dreams would still be waiting for them when he was older.

It wasn't going anywhere.

And he wasn't going to allow anything to stop him from sharing every moment possible with him and Anna.

Not a single thing.

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**Author's Note: Thank you all for coming back to read chapter two and I hope that you all liked it :) Please review if you have the time and I'll see you all in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thank you all for coming back for chapter three. This one is a bit of a longer chapter, but I hope you all like it! x**

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John smelled the cottage pie that Anna was making as soon as he came through the front door and, although he wasn't too pleased that she was creating extra work for herself, he smiled at the thought of having dinner with her for the first time in over a fortnight. Ever since he had started working again he had eaten his dinner at Downton so that she didn't have to burden herself with cooking for him when she was exhausted. That morning, however, while stood at the front door she had insisted that he joined her for dinner that evening and the smile she'd given him had forced him to agree.

Once he had taken off his hat and coat he entered the sitting room, knowing that Johnnie would be asleep in his Moses basket, and his heart began to flutter in his chest as he walked across the room. He knew that some people would think that he was soft for allowing the thought of seeing his son to thrill him so, but he found that he didn't care. Just like he didn't care when he received disapproving glances whenever he pushed the pram while on a stroll with him and Anna. He was an involved father, whether people approved of that or not, and it was one of the things he was proudest about.

He leaned his cane against the settee after reaching Johnnie's Moses basket and felt his breath hitch when he looked at him. He looked so perfect. He was in a deep sleep, as he had predicted, with his small fists resting on either side of his head while he sucked on his pacifier. 'Hello, little one…' He whispered before giving his cheek a stroke with the back of his index finger. 'You haven't been giving your mother _too_ much trouble while I've been at Downton, I'm hoping.' Johnnie nuzzled his cheek against the little mattress he was snoozing on which caused his father to chuckle to himself.

John watched his son sleep for a couple more seconds before stroking his cheek a final time, reaching for his cane and turning to leave the sitting room so that he could go and greet Anna. It took moments for him to reach the kitchen and, when he did, the scene before him made him stop in his tracks. He had known that she would make an effort with their meal since it was the first time that the two of them had eaten together in almost a fortnight, but he hadn't thought that she would make the kitchen look so romantic. She had outdone herself and, not for the first time, he was lost for words.

He had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor when he looked at her and saw her standing at the counter in a pale pink dress. She must not have bought it long ago and he knew that she had never worn it before because he was certain that he would have remembered seeing her in something so gorgeous. It was a simple garment – it was held up by spaghetti straps and it ended just below her knees – but he loved it. He started to walk up to her from behind after a couple of seconds and once he'd leaned his cane against the counter he laid his hands on her waist. 'Hello.' He smiled.

Anna finished cutting the small cottage pie that she had made in half before leaning back against his chest and looking up at him. 'Hello,' Her eyes drifted closed and she sighed when he lowered his head and captured her lips with his in a languid kiss. The two of them let their kiss linger for a moment or two before he pulled back and when she opened her eyes she took in the expression that was on his face and giggled. 'What have I done wrong this time?' She asked while picking up the spatula that laid on the side and using it to spoon the cottage pie out of the dish and onto the two plates.

'When you said that you were making dinner for us, I didn't expect you to turn our kitchen into the Ritz.' He teased.

She smiled to herself. 'Johnnie went down easier than I thought he would and so I had a little extra time on my hands.'

'I also didn't expect this…' He used his hands on her waist to turn her to face him. 'My darling, you look amazing.'

'You don't know how delighted I felt when I tried this on in the shop and it fit me,' She giggled. 'I was close to tears.'

John chuckled before resting his hands on her waist again and allowing her to lace both of her arms around his middle. 'I love this dress and I think you look beautiful in it, but there's just one thing that I want to be certain of,' He told her. 'I want to be certain that you know that Johnnie and I couldn't care less if you don't fit into something. When he looks at you he sees his mother and when I look at you I see my wife. I'm not going to lie and tell you that I haven't realised how well you've bounced back, because I have, but that isn't what I think about when I lie next to you or look at you.'

'I know that and I love you for it,' She replied before taking a step closer to him and rising up onto her tiptoes to brush a soft kiss against his lips. 'Now…unless you want overcooked vegetables with your cottage pie you should let me get on with finishing our dinner.' The two of them shared a smile before she leaned into him when he kissed her forehead.

'I know he's asleep, but would you mind if I…' He trailed off after taking his hands off of her waist.

She smirked at him. 'You can go and have a cuddle with him, but if he wakes up you'll be the one settling him again.'

'I won't even complain about it,' He teased before kissing her cheek and walking out of the kitchen to go back to their son. He didn't have to be worried about waking Johnnie when he lifted him out of his Moses basket, however, because he was stirring when he reached his side and opened his eyes before he had even had a chance to prop his cane against the settee. 'That was good timing…' He kept his voice quiet while lifting Johnnie out of his Moses basket and into his arms and his heart swelled when he blinked up at him with a smile. 'No wonder your mother can never put you down.'

There was no feeling in the world more perfect than holding his son close.

He perched himself on the edge of the settee with Johnnie in the cradle of his arms moments later and smiled when his son snuggled against him and huffed in contentment. If he had the choice, he would never go to work again. He would spend all of his time with his son and wife – holding them, caring for them and reminding them of how much he loved them until the two of them were sick of hearing about it. The one thing that made being apart from them while at work worth it was knowing that he was providing for them both. He never wanted either of them to want for anything at all.

Whenever he thought about what his wife's childhood had been like, his heart broke.

He could remember how she had revealed to him that when her father died at work she, her mother and her older sister had been made destitute. She had told him about how she had had to squeeze onto a small bed with her sister, how she had had to drink from jam jars and how most of the meals she'd had had been a slice of bread with butter. The thought of her ever having to experience something like that again and the thought of Johnnie experiencing something like that at all made him feel sick. No matter what happened, he swore that he would never allow that to happen to their family.

'John?' The sound of Anna's voice pulled him from his thoughts. 'I've been calling you. Your dinner's on the table.'

He looked up from Johnnie to see his wife standing in the doorway to the sitting room with a perfect smile on her lips. 'Come here for a moment,' He patted the space beside him on the settee before Anna walked over and sat down beside him. Once she had made herself comfortable he slid an arm around her and let her lean against him before pressing his lips to her cheek. 'You know that I'd never let anything happen to you or Johnnie, don't you? I'd never let both of you go to bed cold or without having had something to eat.' She gave him a look that said she knew he had been brooding.

'Of course I do,' She soothed while resting her hand on his cheek. 'Oh, John, you need to stop worrying so much.'

He sighed. 'I just hate knowing that you struggled so much after your father died.'

'I know…' She replied. 'But that was decades ago now, darling, and there's no point in being worried about the past.'

He gave her a sheepish smile. 'I'm a fool, aren't I?'

'No,' She shook her head at him. 'You're just a concerned father and husband and no-one could criticize you for that.'

The two of them shared a smile before she lowered her gaze to Johnnie and stroked his face with the back of her hand. 'Look at him,' She whispered before smiling when her husband did as she had said. 'Our son is warm and comfortable and has a full stomach. He has two parents who love him more than anything else in the world and that is all he'll ever need. You bring home more than enough money, John, and we have quite a bit put aside just in case we do end up in a spot of bother somewhere down the line. You and I haven't any reason to feel anxious and you have to remember that.'

John turned to her again after pressing a kiss onto their son's forehead and sighed when she placed a hand on his back. 'I think we might be the luckiest boys in the world to have you in our lives,' He smiled at her. 'We love you so much.'

'I love you both too,' She shifted closer to him before leaving a warm kiss on his lips. 'Now come through for dinner.'

He watched her stand from the settee and walk out of the sitting room before he lowered his gaze to their son and gave his back a little pat. 'Son,' He said before standing from the settee and reaching for his cane. 'We don't deserve her…' And, with that, he brought Johnnie further into his warmth and left the sitting room in order to join his wife for dinner.

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The sensation of her husband's fingers running along the length of her exposed arm made Anna shiver as she laid next to him on the settee sometime later. She was curled up in the space between him and the back of the settee with one of her arms slung over his middle, a leg tangled with his and her head on his chest while she listened to the beating of his heart. She couldn't remember the last time the two of them had been able to cuddle like this. More often than not, both of them felt so fatigued when John finished work that they went to bed not too long after settling Johnnie for the night.

It made a nice change to be able to lie in one another's arms for a little while and have just one evening to themselves.

'You outdid yourself with dinner,' John murmured into her hair. 'I think that was the best cottage pie I've ever tasted.'

She giggled before tilting her head back on his chest and meeting his gaze. 'I doubt it was better than Mrs. Patmore's.'

'To be honest, I think it might have _surpassed _Mrs. Patmore's,' He smirked at her. 'I'd never dare tell her so, though.'

'You'd never hear the end of if you did.' She moved her head to his shoulder before starting to settle down once again.

For the next couple of minutes, the two of them laid in a comfortable silence while John ran his hand over her hair and she gazed up at him with a gentle smile of contentment on her lips. 'You're so beautiful…' He whispered after a time.

'You wouldn't have said that if you'd been here earlier,' She laughed. 'I was in my nightgown until eleven at least and then I got changed just to have Johnnie decide to spit up over me while we were cuddling after I'd given him his feed.'

He chuckled before pulling her closer. 'You could wear your nightgown 24/7 and I'd still think you looked gorgeous.'

'You're _such_ a charmer,' She shook her head at him.

The smile that graced his features made her heart swell with love for him and, after snuggling further into his embrace, she laid her hand on his cheek and ran her thumb over the smooth skin there. 'Kiss me, John…' She whispered to him.

Her heart fluttered when he brought the hand that wasn't caressing her arm to her face and cupped her cheek under the curtain of her hair. He then tilted her head back somewhat before capturing her bottom lip between his in a tender kiss. Their kiss lasted seconds before he pulled back from her, but after the two of them had shared a smile he caught her in a kiss that was longer than the first. He ran his hand along her side through her dress as the two of them became lost in their kisses and when he felt her run her tongue across his lower lip he parted his lips so that she could deepen the kiss.

Their kisses were soft and deep for several long minutes before the urge to breathe reared its head and the two of them pulled apart with a sigh. He pressed his forehead against hers while holding her close with the hand that was settled on her waist and smiled as her breath beat against his face. She opened her eyes a couple of moments later and the fatigue that he saw in her eyes made him sigh. 'I think we ought to head up to bed, darling,' He said. 'You look so exhausted.'

'But I'm comfortable,' She pouted. 'Do you think we might have ten more minutes and then go up?'

He pretended to think for a moment before saying: 'I suppose so.'

The two of them then shared one last kiss before she rested her head on his chest and settled down beside him again, a gentle sigh of satisfaction escaping her when he buried a kiss in her hair. 'I love you, John.' She told him with a smile.

'I love you too, Anna,' He reassured her. 'More than I could ever hope to tell you.'

A comfortable silence fell over the two of them after that and, for the next couple of minutes before the fire died in the hearth and they went to bed, they simply made the most of the time they had and revelled in the closeness they shared.

It was nothing short of bliss…

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**Author's Note: Thank you all for taking the time to read this chapter and for your lovely reviews on the previous two that I have done. I hope that you all liked this chapter and I would be so grateful if, should you have the time, you would leave me a review to let me know what you thought. Thanks again and I'll see you all soon! **


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